I feel like a king from the front seat of the Bentley Flying Spur. Serene, supreme, and incredibly privileged. Could it be that I'm starting to see the value in a $400,000 car? I feel like a millionaire, make that a billionaire, a ruler of men and builder of corporations. The sharemarket is my weapon, the world's finest hotels my playground.

Effortless is the ideal adjective for the Bentley Flying Spur which has arrives in Australia this week with a $423,160 price tag. Everything this second-generation luxury limousine does, it does without ever feeling stressed or pushed. In the dramatic mountainous landscape of our test drive around Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island, formed by volcanic upheaval and the primal crashing of tectonic plates, the Bentley Flying Spur is an island of effortless serenity.

The outside world slides silently by as we glide down the road at 100km/h, air suspension and a plush leather pew isolating me from any roughness in the road beneath. I can hear the Bentley's big 6.0-litre engine rumbling, potent but faint like a volcano on the far horizon. Squeeze the throttle gently - to stomp would be unseemly - and that horizon comes rapidly closer as the Flying Spur's mighty twin-turbo W12-cylinder engine and silken 8-speed auto turns petrol into effortless power.

Equally, it's fearsomely quick when the need arises. The engine under the Spur's long bonnet has been finessed to produce an extra 12kW, taking its quota to a seriously potent 460kW. If pressed, this big sedan - longer than a Commodore, as heavy as two Corollas - could hustle from standstill to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds. In countries other than Australia it can reach 322km/h. In Australia you'll be jailed long before that.

And should further need arise to keep that momentum through tight and winding roads, the Flying Spur will carve majestically around every bend, displaying far more poise and composure than its at times brittle predecessor.

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Like the model it replaces, the Flying Spur uses all four wheels to get its prodigious power to the ground. The ratio at which each axle is fed has been revised rearward slightly (60 percent), which Bentley says gives the grand tourer a rear-drive feel. During our drive neither end ever came close to losing traction, so we've no idea if that truly is the case. The Flying Spur simply felt implacable - as though immune to something so trivial as physics.

Despite the Spur's size and weight, its steering always remains effortlessly light but focused, the big car's body stays flatter and more stable, and the Flying Spur's suspension soaks up the hits like the heavyweight champion it is. Clearly, Bentley took criticisms of the 2005 model's propensity to crash and shudder over bumps seriously when developing its replacement.

That replacement looks more muscular and more imposing than its too curvy predecessor. External dimensions are not significantly changed, and nor therefore is interior space. But space was not in short supply before, and nor is it now.

The Flying Spur's interior looks and feels luxurious like a five-star hotel on wheels. Fine craftsmanship is evident in everything from the double-stitched leather to the burnished alloy vent plungers. It's job, clearly, is to make owners feel special, and it does that brilliantly.

The Flying Spur cannot match its German rivals for technology, though. Especially not the new Mercedes-Benz S-class due early next year which can practically drive itself. The Bentley has no active safety systems like lane departure warning, active steering or automatic parking - which you'd think vital in a car 5.2m long and almost 2m wide. Bentley says owners do not want that kind of techno wizardry in their Flying Spur. Bentley says most owners have two or three other cars, which probably have that stuff already. Bentley says Flying Spurs are bought for other reasons. Like indulgence and pampering, presumably.

Bentley also says most Flying Spur owners prefer to do their own driving, unlike those who buy the bigger Mulsanne model favoured by English royalty. Even in China, one of the fastest growing Bentley markets today, more than half of Flying Spur owners often drive themselves.

It's also clear Bentleys are not bought for fuel economy, even though drivetrain modifications have reduced fuel consumption by 14.3 percent. But that's from a very high base, and the W12 still sucks the juice down faster than two Corollas - it's rated at 14.3L/100km on the combined cycle. Any prolonged urban cruising or back-country flying will come close to doubling that thirst.

But what do lords of industry need to worry about saving a few bucks on fuel? They'd probably just buy an oil company instead.

Me? I'm in a Corolla next. Oh how the mighty fall.

Vital statistics

How much? From $423,160 plus on road costs

Engine: 6.0-litre 12-cyl twin-turbo petrol

Transmission: 8-sp auto

Power: 460kW @ 6000rpm

Torque: 800Nm @ 2000rpm

Weight: 2475kg

Consumption: 14.7L/100km

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The size of your tyre is located on the sidewall of your tyre.It will be similar to the sample below.